ISLAMABAD: This festive season, even the criminals seemed to be on holiday in the federal capital, as only one incident of crime was reported during the first two days of Eid. However, merrymakers and visitors to the capital kept the traffic police busy, who were hard at work keeping the roads clear and avoiding traffic congestions.

Despite the fact that many houses in Islamabad were locked because the occupants had gone to heir hometowns to celebrate the long Eid holidays, those who chose to stay back in the city remained busy in celebrations as no crime was reported on the first day of Eid.

At the same time, more police personnel were busy manning the security at vast and expansive picnic spots in the city, as opposed to conducting watch and ward duties in the residential and commercial areas.

Only three cases were registered in the city on the first day of Eid, two of them were related to recovery of unlicensed pistols from rural areas.

Out of the eight cases registered on first two days of Eid, only one was related to criminal activity

The crime diary, released by Islamabad police, shows that a mobile team recovered a 30-bore pistol from a local on the Simly Dam road, near Bhara Kahu police station. The other recovered was a 9mm pistol from the rural area, falling under the Sabzi Mandi police station.

The third case was registered against a driver of a company, who hit some parked vehicles in E-11 sector. A case under Section 279 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) that related to rash driving and Section 427 related to damage caused by mischief was registered against the driver.

Similarly, five cases were registered in city on July 30, the second day of Eid, which include the only crime reported in Islamabad during the two days of the festivities. The report was about a theft of jewellery and cash, amounting to Rs600,000, from a house in Sector G-13/2. The police registered a case under Section 380 of PPC against unknown persons.

An official of Golra police station said that the victims’ had gone to Rawalpindi at around 9pm on the second day of Eid and came back around midnight, only to find the locks and grills of the house broken. “Although no suspects were identified, but the situation clearly shows that somebody close to the family was involved, who knew the timings of their departure and arrival,” the official added.

The other four cases registered on the second day of Eid include the recovery of a weapon from an accused, during the investigation of an older case, at Margalla police station and the recovery of an 8mm rifle by a mobile team in Tarnol area.

A woman from Modrah Noor village registered a case of sexual harassment at the Banigala police station, accusing six people of entering her house and mistreating her children. The final report was about a locked embroidery shop that burnt down in I-10 markaz. The owner of the shop complained to the Sabzi Mandi police station that since the electrical wiring within the shop were in good condition, the owner suspected some sort of arsenal activity.

The crime was even less than the routine days, a senior police official told Dawn, adding that the conditions on Thursday were no different. “An almost crime-free status has been achieved due to the effective vigilance by the Islamabad police. Even the criminals can sense that the police are very alert, so they do not take any risks,” the official added.

The traffic police, however, remained busy in the city from the start of the day till late night while trying their best to maintain a smooth flow of vehicles on the road.

To save time and to avoid unnecessary trouble, the traffic police also decided not to fine anyone for over speeding, or not wearing seat belts and helmets.

“We are only issuing challans for the traffic light violations, as that causes accidents. Almost 55 such fines were imposed in the three days,” said Islamabad Traffic SSP Asmatullah Junejo. “But if we start getting into other violations, then there will be no movement of the traffic as most of the people who come to Islamabad during these days do not wear helmets or seatbelts.

The traffic police have estimated that around 100,000 vehicles, including cars and motorcycles, entered the city on Wednesday and Thursday, either to move ahead towards Murree or to go the picnic spots within the city. “The worst problem with most of the people coming from other places is that they are not aware of the traffic norms of the city – but we are trying to educate them.”

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2014